Fernando Peniche

TrunkSpace: You’re serving as artist on the first TrunkSpace exclusive comic book, “Imprinted.” Can you tell us what you wanted to bring to the series stylistically?Peniche: Well, I wanted something a little realistic and detailed, leaving space for the colorist to do his magic as well. I have managed different styles in the past, from super heroic to the very grim with a lot of blacks to the more cartoonish.

TrunkSpace: Your art style seems to be a bit of an artistic chameleon. Is it important for you to be the kind of artist who can adapt to a project as opposed to the project adapting to you?Peniche: I think a little of both is important. I love to work with different styles based on the kind of comic I’m doing. I always like to adapt and try new things with styles, mixing something new with my own. I like putting detail into the backgrounds and the playing with the cyber stuff as well.

TrunkSpace: “Imprinted” involves the supernatural, and by the looks of it, some pretty interesting-looking characters. Do stories in a heightened sense of reality make working on a book more interesting for you?Peniche: Yes, always! I like to draw real stuff and environments, but at the same time, adding in some of those elements makes books more interesting to work on.

TrunkSpace: Who is your favorite character to draw in “Imprinted” and why?Peniche: I really like to draw the character Montray. He has a style that is always inexpressive. He is confused with the human things, which makes him really enjoyable to draw. I love when he appears in the scripts.

TrunkSpace: You’ve worked on some classic comic book characters in your career, including “The Phantom” and “Joe Palooka.” Is it more exciting working on an established brand or on a new title that nobody has ever seen before?Peniche: It’s great to work with established characters, especially those that I admire. When you have liberty with them as well, that’s fun to play with. That said though, I also love to work with new characters and create new universes where I can let my imagination run free.

TrunkSpace: You previously did some work on the DreamWorks Animation “Megamind” comic book. Again, the style is very different than that of Imprinted. Is there a style of art you prefer working in?Peniche: My favorite style to work with is kind of a mix between the cartoon look and the more realistic style. I can play a little with the proportions and the expressions of the characters, but at the same time, can keep it looking realistic… like Joe Mad, but less exaggerated.

TrunkSpace: What’s your dream project?Peniche: I don’t know yet. I think my dream projects are those where I can draw and color the entire book because I always envision how the final art will look. Those kind of projects are really hard to do though because of scheduling. It would take double the time to finish a book. I also enjoy comics with fantasy, science fiction, and cyberpunk elements. If they have all of them, even better! (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: When working, do you have music spinning in the background, and if so, who’s been spinning lately?Peniche: I think I get trapped in the rock of the 80’s and 90s… AC/DC, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and others. They make me work faster.

TrunkSpace: What else can fans of your work look forward to in 2017?Peniche: We have many other stories that we’ll be releasing through TrunkSpace, many with different themes and styles that everyone can enjoy. People can track my work and fan art on my Instagram and at Facebook. And there’s always my old but still great DeviantArt account where I have tons of work that people can check out.